PESHAWAR: A meeting here Saturday was told that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to take steps to revive the economy by paving the way for huge investment and setting up strong industrial base to promote tourism and trade activities in the province.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak presided over the meeting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Investment Board. An official handout said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Investment Board was being revitalised to give more incentives to investors by creating a congenial atmosphere for industrialisation.
It said a survey was being conducted for setting up new industrial estates near Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan, Kohat and in Malakand division and other suitable places.
Vice-Chairman of Investment Board Mohsin Aziz, Senior Minister for Energy, Power and Irrigation Sikandar Sherpao, Rifaqatullah Babar, who is economic advisor to the chief minister, Chief Secretary Arbab Shahzad, additional chief secretary and administrative secretaries of Finance, Energy and Power, Local Government, Sports and Tourism departments attended the meeting.
The Investment Board was constituted a year ago, but it was inactive. Chief Minister Pervez Khattak reconstituted and streamlined its affairs by inducting senior industrialist Mohsin Aziz in it as the vice chairman.
In the meeting, the chief minister was told that the private sector has offered to set up gas-run power houses with electricity generation capacity of 200-250 megawatt in Kohat and Nowshera in view of the sufficient availability of natural gas in the province.
The chief minister hinted at providing 70-80 MMCFD gas to the power houses as cheap electricity would cater to the needs of factories in the nearby industrial estates.
The handout said the private sector offered to the provincial government that it would establish power plants to generate electricity from waste. The chief minister called for holding a joint meeting with the investors and administrative secretaries after Eidul Azha to give practical shape to the offer.
The chief minister asked the government departments to help the private sector identify land and provide facilities for setting up hotels, restaurants, tourist resorts and adventure parks in the province.
